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“Not really. I don’t know.” Duke seemed uncomfortable now, but still, he thought about it, and before he spoke, I knew what he was going to say. “Well, wait now. Did he tell you something?”
Elroy saw Darlene at the bank frequently while we were married. He’d never told me, but neither did she. It was easy for me to assume that Darlene just didn’t think much about it, and she’d said as much, but that didn’t mean Elroy never thought more of their few minutes together each time. He’d crushed hard on Darlene in college, but he never disrespected our relationship. Had he?
“He told me you tried getting Darlene to close her account. And move out of state.”
Duke’s face flushed, and it almost looked like he’d swallowed a rock. “Why the fuck would he say that?”
“Well, Darlene confirmed it. Mostly. So it wasn’t a lie.”
“But it wasn’t the whole truth, either.” He sat back on the bench, but this time I was relieved. “That shit’s between me and her, but she was stressed and felt powerless because she couldn’t afford the house on her own dime. She wouldn’t take my help because you were already paying for it all. But it didn’t sit right with her, so I told her we could move somewhere else. I mentioned moving up north, but when she shot that down, I didn’t push it. I just told her I wanted to get out from under your thumb. No offense.”
I tried not to take offense, but the way he worded it made it a hell of a lot harder than maybe it should have. After my earlier recognition of how horribly I interpreted things, I decided to hold my breath and let him continue.
“I want to provide for her. You understand that. And I totally get you wanting to provide for your family. But man, I just want to be able to build a family. With Darlene. And we’ll take what you feel like you need to give us, but you know she doesn’t want your money. She just wants you to be there for James.”
“But closing the bank account?”
He rubbed his knees. “I thought it would be a first step. You know, a step of trust for us. She was so afraid to lose everything if you stopped paying, and I thought that’s what you might do since she said it all the time.”
I cringed. “I’d never do some shitty thing like that.”
Duke held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I know, man. I know. I know now, anyway. I just wanted to keep her safe. And James. Not from you. Just from stuff I didn’t understand, you know? I didn’t know you. I didn’t know what would happen.”
He just wanted to do the same thing I did. Duke and I had the wrong ideas about each other, but apparently, his was a lot more accurate than mine. I’d never leave my family out to dry like that, but I hadn’t kept many promises, so it was only fair that he’d assume I was a worthless piece of trash looking for an excuse to bow out.
“Damn, I’ve really screwed up.”
“Another chance, right?” Duke offered an awkwardly friendly smile, but I nodded anyway and tried to smile back. It felt pathetic, but he seemed to accept it. “Sounds like I need to kick Elroy’s ass, though.”
I waved him off. “Don’t. Now that I think about it, I think he’s just trying to stir up a little drama so he can be a shoulder for Darlene to cry on.”
“What the fuck?”
I laughed. “He had a crush on her in college. I didn’t think much of it then, but now I’m wondering if he’s just trying to stay relevant.”
“He’s gonna get his ass beat if he keeps it up.”
I shot him an approving grin. “Maybe, but maybe you should just move back in with Darlene.”
“I don’t know, man. I don’t take kindly to liars.”
I smacked his back. “Then feel free to hold me to my word.”
“You got it.”
I hadn’t expected meeting Duke like that would end with us not hating each other, though I supposed it was me who’d always hated him. I still didn’tnothate the guy but knowing someone like that was around my son left me with a certain comfort that I couldn’t find before.
Duke continued on his run, and I walked back to my truck, watching the light break through the trees and the few passersby around inhale the freshest air they’d find in the middle of Dallas Metro.
All our talk about Darlene made me miss James. A lot.
I headed toward Darlene’s, but when I pulled up, Darlene’s car wasn’t there. In its place was a deep-red van I’d seen many times before. Sherry was in high school when she first babysat for us, but now she was in college.
Before I decided to get out of the truck, I wondered whether that would be weird. Sherry had probably grown used to seeing Duke around. The house wasn’t my home anymore, so walking in was probably less than appropriate. The poor girl wouldn’t know how to handle that, so with a defeated sigh, I headed back to the warehouse but decided to stop at the bar for lunch before going in.
When I entered, there were things I expected and those I didn’t. I expected to see people at the bar, shooting back shots or mulling over a couple of beers. Then there was what I didn’t expect, multiplied by two. I didn’t expect to see my ex-wife at the bar, and more than that, I definitely didn’t expect to see Christie laughing it up right alongside her.
Chapter 28
